Container



Feb Q, @$1 D. E. GRAHAM CONTAINER Filed OCC. 30, l1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l .llal rif? Feb. 9, E943.

D. E. GRAHAM 2,310,420

CONTAINER I Filed oct. 5o, 19.39 2 sheets-sheet 2 Duncan ar/ raha'm Patented Feb. 9, 1943 UNITED VSTATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER Duncan Earl Graham, Denver, Colo.

Application Gctober 30, 1939, Serial No. 302,009

2 Claims. (Cl. 220-97) This invention relates to containers of conventional type commonly employed for the packaging of food and other commodities to facilitate merchandising, handling, storage preserving, and display of such products, and has as an object to provide a modified and improved construction for such containers whereby their convenience and utility is enhanced. v

A further object of the invention is to provide a modified construction susceptible of convenient incorporation in and with conventional containers to adapt such containers for nonslipping interengagement when in stacked relation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved closure member for one end of a conventional container and adapted to engage in non-slipping relation with the conventional end closure of a like container when stacked.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved end closure for conventional containers having each one conventional end closure, whereby said containers are adapted for non-slipping interengagement in stacked rela.

tion.'

A further object of the invention is to be found in the provision of a conventional container end closure modified for non-slipping engagement with the conventional end closure of an adjacent container and susceptible of attachment to and in operative relation with otherwise conventional container structure through the use of known and commonly-employed methods and means.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section taken axially through a complete container modified in accordance with the principles of the invention and portions of two like containers in stacked relation therewith. Figure 2 is a fragmentary, detail section, on an enlarged scale, through abutting margins of adjacent containers as shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a vertical section axially of the botto-m and top portions of stacked containtion. Figure 6 is a fragmentary, detail section r similar to Figure 2 and illustrating abutting margins of the containers shown in Figure 5.

Throughout the various views of the drawings, the numeral Ill designates the body portion of a conventional container and the numeral II designates a conventional end closure of the type commonly associated with both ends of such containers. The body portion I0 is shown as a straight-walled, open-ended, hollow cylinder, and may be formed of any suitable material having the requisite rigidity, sealing properties, and resistance to moisture, such as sheet metal, molded plastics, ber, paper board, and the like, in any suitable or convenient manner. The end closure II is a fiat disc of a diameter such as will fit fairly closely within the open container end and is formed with' an annular, marginal ange disposed to lie closely against the inner, end surface of the portion I0 and be bent over thev end margin of said body portion and against and in overlying, exterior relation with the outer end surface of said portion to provide a bead I2 which is crimped, rolled, pressed, cemented, or soldered to said body portion in accordance with conventional methods to perfect a. sealed joint between meeting portions of the elements I0 and II. The end closure I I is usually of the same material as the body portion IIJ, but may be of differing material, as is occasionally the case in conventional practice, without in any way affecting the principles and purposes of the instant invention. As will be readily apparent, th'e end closure I I is not iiush with the outer margin of the corresponding body portion end, but the major plane of said end closure is disposed inwardly of the body pory tion end sufficiently to provide a shallow, exterior recess on the end of the finished container.

The end closure II illustrated and above described is typical of the conventional closures normally found on both ends of conventional, finished containers, one of which closures is applied at the packing plant after filling or charging of the container, but in the instant invention, the end closure II is the one last applied to the container after filling or charging thereof, hence, being of conventional type, it may readily be applied in the known and usual manner with the fa ilities heretofore and at present available for 'such purpose.

The instant invention contemplates substitution of a modified end closure for the first end closure normally furnished as a fixed component of the containerl as supplied to the packer or user, which modified end closure is adapted for telescopic cooperation with the conventional end closure II in a manner to limit and substantially obviate relative lateral movement between adjacent stacked containers, thus permitting secure stacking of the completed containers for storage, display, shelving, packing, and handling, to a degree far beyond that possible with conventional constructions. The improved container end closure may be variously modified for the purpose above set forth, and certain such specie modications within the contemplation of the invention are illustrated in th'e drawings and hereinafter described.

As shown in Figures l and 2, the modified end closure may be closely similar to the conventional end closure Il in that it presentsa flat disc portion I3 and a marginal bead I4 substantially identical in structure and function with the analogous elements of the closure II, the bead I 4 being adapted to embracingly grip over and be secured to an end margin of the body portion I0, and differs from the conventional closure Il in the provision of an annular rib I5 concentrically of the disc I3 within and immediately adjacent the bead I4 and formed from a fold of the material disposed to project axially from said disc in the same direction as the bead Il and beyond the outer end margin of said bead a distance substantially equal to the depth of the bead I2 relative to the disc portion of the conventional end closure II. The rib I5 has thus an outer diameter such as will permit it to be received within the bead I2 of an adjacent conventional container end II, and an extension be- -yond its own bead I4 sufcient to bring the free margin of said rib into seated engagement against the closure II at or before engagement of the beads I2 and I 4 with one another, the rib I5 thus engaging within the recess of the conventional end closure II to limit lateral relative travel of the container provided with said rib with respect to an adjacent, axially-aligned similar container equipped with a conventional closure on the end opposed to the rib I5. Figure 1 illustrates the manner in which containers provided with a rib I5 on one end each may be stacked and held against displacement laterally from their stacked-relation through telescopic engagement of their respective ribs I5 within the exterior recesses of the conventional closures II of adjacent containers, in the manner above described.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a construction func-t tionally identical with that shown in Figures 1 and 2 and differing only in that the rib I5 is modined by angular disposition of its inner fold I5' to form a V-shaped annular trough whereof the outer wall corresponds with the outer fold of the rib I5 and the inner wall inclines to connect and close between the free margin of said outer wall and the periphery of the disc I3. The modified construction last above described serves to hold containers equipped therewith against relative lateral displacement in exactly the same manner as does the rib I5, but does slightly increase the capacity of a container so equipped in an amount equal to the capacity of the V- shaped trough formed by the divergence of the folds or walls forming the modied rib.

The modified end closure construction shown in Figures 5 and 6 is closely similar to that illustrated by the preceding figures but differs therefrom in that instead of the disc I3 merging with the base of the rib I5, a similar disc I6 is provided in marginally merging relation with the outer margin of a single-walled rib I'I which corresponds with the outer wall or fold of the rib I5. In this construction. the capacity of the container is increased considerably, which may be of advantage in certain instances, and the disc I6 is disposed to set on and bear against the disc portion outer surface of the conventional end closure II carried by and in sealing relation with the opposite end of like containers.

As will be readily apparent, all of the modied end closures illustrated and described may conveniently be associated with conventional containers as fixed closure member at the time of container manufacture and through the use of the usual and well-known methods and apparatus available for such purpose, the containers being thus adapted for ultimate closure by means of the conventional end closure Il applied after packing is completed through the use of the facilities now available for such purposesI the modified end closures in no way interfering with the normal packing and sealing processes. Further, the modified end closures illustrated in Figures 3-6, inclusive, may be utilized to increase the normal capacity of a container to a degree which permits the use of a container of less length or diameter while maintaining the capacity of a relatively larger body portion I0.

Theadvantages inherent in the modified end closure construction are obvious, since the difilculty of securely stacking conventional containers is so well known as to obviate the necessity for elaboration.

Since many changes, variations, and modifications in the specic form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a container having a tubular straightwalled body and top and bottom end closures, each comprising a circular web portion positioned inwardly of the end edges of the body of said container and formed with an axially offset rim defining an annular channel disposed to telescopically receive one end of the container body and engage therewith to position its web portion in recessed relation interiorly of the container end closed thereby, means on the bottom end closure for limiting lateral displacement between stacked containers of like size, said means comprising an annulus formed by folding said web upon itself closely adjacent the junction of said web portion with its channeled rim in concentric relation with and in axial extension outwardly of the container beyond said rim, said annular member being received within the offset rim portion of the top of the next adjacent container and contacting the web thereof with the aforesaid outer rim portion in substantially contacting relation.

2. In a container having a tubular straightwalled body and top and bottom end closures, each comprising a, circular web portion at least the top web of which is positioned inwardly of said container, said web portions formed with an axially offset rim defining an annular channel disposed to telescopically receive one end of the container body and engage therewith to secure said web portions to the container end closed thereby, means on the bottom end closure for limiting lateral displacement between stacked containers of like size, said means comprising an annulus formed by folding said web upon itself closely adjacent the junction of said web portion with its channeled rim in concentric relation with and in axial extension outwardly of the container beyond said rim, said annular member being received within the offset rim portion of the top of the next adjacent container and contacting the web thereof with the aforesaid outer rim portions in substantially contacting relation.

DUNCAN EARL GRAHAM. 

